


Parallel

by F1_rabbit



Series: Road to the Multiverse [6]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M, Parallel Universes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 00:51:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8035876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: The heat in Singapore is stifling, so Dany pours water over himself, but the portal generator is still in his pocket, and it doesn't like being wet.





	Parallel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writtenfripperies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenfripperies/gifts).



Dany was fidgeting with his jeans, wondering what sort of cruel universe would make them race in a country so hot that he was sweating just sitting outside the garage.

He tried to fan himself by pulling on the front of his shirt, but it offered little relief, and he could feel the sweat dripping down his back, leaving his underwear warm and soggy.

Dany sipped at his water, and the cool liquid was like heaven on his tongue. He tipped the rest of the bottle over himself, letting out a groan as he felt goose bumps appear on his skin.

And then something fizzed in his pocket.

He'd left the portal generator in there, and now he'd just tipped water all over it. That wasn't one of the smartest things that he'd done today.

Dany looked around, trying to see if anything was different, but everything looked the same, so that was win. He couldn't take any more chaos. It probably would have been wiser to leave it at home, but there was something comforting about having it with him.

Pyry stuck his head round the door, giving him a funny look.

"It was so hot that I poured water over myself." Dany shrugged, Pyry knew he was strange.

"Feel cooler?" Pyry asked, shaking his head at him.

"For a minute, yes." Dany laughed, heading back towards the stuffy garage where the air conditioning was broken.

He stepped in, and the cool air blasted him. At least something was going right for him today.

It didn't take him long to get changed into his race suit, and he strolled into the garage, glad that he'd had a chance to cool off before the afternoon free practice session. He looked across to the other side of the garage, after all that had happened, just knowing that Carlos was there made it a little better.

That was when he saw something alarming. Carlos wasn't on the other side of the garage, he had a new teammate. The picture was clearly Max's, but that wasn't the only thing that had changed.

The name on the other side of the garage clearly said Max Vandoorne.

*

Dany had spent ninety minutes thankful that the Toro Rosso car in this universe appeared to be the same, but he couldn't help but wonder what had changed.

After the session they were in the media pen together and Dany was shocked how calm and laid back Max seemed. He was confident without being arrogant, and even the way that he smiled seemed softer, maybe in this universe he'd been raised by his mother, but that still didn't explain his surname.

As much as Dany thought about it, he couldn't deal with the idea that Max was married to Stoffel in this universe.

Max was easy to talk to, and Dany felt a little sad for the Max in his universe, until he remembered everything that had happened.

Once they were back at the hotel, Dany saw Stoffel waiting for them, and he rushed up to see them. Dany still felt conflicted, and when he saw the wedding band on Stoffel's finger, he felt his stomach twist into knots.

Stoffel was chatting away to Max about their day, they were clearly very close, and Dany hoped that just making little noises to show that he was listening was enough input into the conversation.

The lift was empty, and Dany felt like a third wheel, but then he felt Stoffel reaching out to hold his hand, intertwining their fingers as Max told them his plans for his nineteenth birthday.

Dany's first thought was, _please don't tell me that I'm in some sort of relationship with both of them_. Panic was coursing through his veins, wondering what he had got himself into this time.

"I can't believe my baby brother is going to be nineteen," Stoffel said, "I feel so old." Stoffel reached out to pinch Max's cheeks, and they both laughed. Dany let out a nervous chuckle, hoping that it would be enough not to arouse suspicion.

_How is Max his little brother? Do they have the same mother? Is he adopted?_

Dany knew he couldn't ask any of those questions, especially since it looked like he was married to Stoffel. He didn't feel conflicted about that, in fact, it all made sense, and he relaxed for the first time since he arrived in this universe.

Max went off to his own room, and Stoffel opened the door to Dany's room, their room probably, there was no way to be married and not have the whole paddock know about it.

Stoffel led Dany to the bed, his shoes left neatly by the side, and Dany sat down on the end of it, taking it all in. Dany was still at Toro Rosso, but apart from Carlos not being on the grid, there hadn't been many changes, it looked like this universe was one where Vettel never went to Ferrari, and therefore he never got promoted only to be demoted again. Stoffel was at McLaren with Jenson, and Kevin was at Renault with Jo, so it looked like that all worked itself out.

So, the big question was, how did he end up married to Stoffel? They must have got things going when they were kids in Formula Renault.

Stoffel shuffled closer as Dany sat staring at the carpet, trying to work out what was going on, and how he could put it all right, but he was probably just going to have to wait until the portal generator dried out, which wouldn't take long now that he was in a nicely air conditioned room and it wouldn't have to be stuffed in his sweaty pocket.

Dany felt Stoffel massaging at his back, and it felt so good, but he felt a little guilty too. He wasn't his Dany, and he really should have told Stoffel that, but then he was trailing kissing down the side of his neck.

"What's on your mind? You're all quiet," Stoffel said, cuddling in around Dany as he worked out all the knots in his back, and it felt so good, but he knew that it was wrong.

"I'm not your Dany."

Stoffel twisted around so that he was looking at Dany, his eyes scanning every one of his freckles as though he was trying to spot the differences, but it wasn't until Stoffel stared into his eyes that he seemed to realise that he wasn't his Dany.

"You really look like him," Stoffel said, shuffling backwards on the bed so that there was a safe distance between them.

"I'm from an alternate universe, so I look nearly identical, but we're not the same." Dany smiled, hoping that Stoffel wasn't going to do anything irrational, but from what he knew of Stoffel, in his universe as well as in others, he was calm and laid back, even when everything sounded crazy.

"I can see it in your eyes, your soul is tortured."

Dany laughed, he didn't think of himself as tortured, just having a bad time of things right now. "It's a long story."

Stoffel listened as he told him everything, and to his credit, he said nothing apart from offering his sympathies. The Dany in this universe was a very lucky guy indeed.

"I can get your Dany back tomorrow, once the portal generator has dried out." Dany held up the little metal tube, drenched in sweat and he opened it up so that it could dry on the bedside table.

"Thank you." Stoffel went in for a hug, and Dany felt like all was right with the world, but it wasn't his world.

"I have two questions. One, how did we end up married? And two, how is Max your brother when in my universe he's a Verstappen?" Dany didn't want to let go of Stoffel, and Stoffel seemed fine with telling him while they were hugging.

"We met when we were young, but it lasted and then last winter break, we decided to get married, it was just a little affair, but we couldn't keep it secret," Stoffel said, "Although we were surprised by how accepting people were, there wasn't too much hassle, and now, after ten months, it's not really an issue."

"I'm happy for you guys," Dany said, snorting with laughter at how strange it was to be congratulating an alternate version of himself for having a nice life.

"And Max, my parents adopted him when he was just a few weeks old," Stoffel said, "I don't know who his biological parents were, it'll be on the paperwork somewhere, but I don't care, he's my baby brother and I love him."

Dany wanted to say something about how he could tell that this Max was raised with love and affection, but there was no easy way to phrase it, so he said nothing, merely making a little noise in agreement.

It was easy talking to Stoffel, and he had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't his Stoffel, and even then he was only friends with his Stoffel, nothing more. Dany offered to sleep in the chair, but Stoffel said he was fine sharing a bed with him, and Dany was glad of the company.

They were still talking in the early hours of the morning, Stoffel's words getting more and more slurred as his eyes started to droop. Dany could feel himself drifting off to sleep when Stoffel said something that made his eyes fly open.

"Why aren't you with your Stoffel?"

"It's complicated." Dany was glad that Stoffel couldn't see the blush on his cheeks, it felt like the universe, many universes, were hinting to him that he should be with Stoffel, but he wasn't sure what to do, so he did nothing.

"It doesn't have to be."

Stoffel rolled over and soft snores filled the room, leaving Dany confused, but he had to drive tomorrow, so he switched off his brain, and let sleep claim him.

*

The portal generator was dry when Dany woke up the next morning, but he knew that he would have to wait until he was back at the track to use it. He had no idea whose hotel room he'd be wandering into if he used it now.

He left Stoffel sleeping, and he had scribbled a note saying that he was heading down to the track and thanking him for last night, which he hoped was vague enough that if anyone else saw it they'd just assume that his Dany had written it for him.

The paddock was quiet when he strolled through, and he glanced around before pressing the button on the portal generator, hoping that no-one saw it appear. He stepped through back into his universe, and it all went white.

If anyone had been watching him, they'd have seen his alternate step out of the other side of the portal while he was stepping in.

Dany blinked a few times as he waited for his vision to clear, and he jumped when he realised that Stoffel was standing in front of him.

"It's nice to have you back," Stoffel said, a smile on his face, and no trace of confusion even though he'd just seen Dany step out of a portal from another universe. "I had to let your alternate into your flat, and he used a few things to make the doodad, but everything else is untouched."

"Thank you," Dany said, holding Stoffel tighter as he wondered why Stoffel wasn't more surprised by it all. "Why aren't you freaking out about this?"

"You took me to an alternate universe before," Stoffel said, laughing softly in Dany's ear and Dany felt like he was home.

"Oh. I didn't think that you remembered that," Dany had pieced it all together from his hazy recollection of the night, and his encounter with their alternates that they'd met that night when he'd had to go and retrieve his Nico from their universe.

"You were very drunk," Stoffel said, laughing as he let go of Dany. He was shaking his head with a smile on his face, and that seemed to sum it all up nicely.

"We should hang out again sometime," Dany said, he wasn't brave enough to just ask Stoffel out on a date, but this was a start.

"We should," Stoffel said, glancing around as people started to wander into the paddock, it must have just passed the time for the curfew. "I'll see you later."

Dany felt all squishy inside, and he was glad that the heat was disguising the fact that he was blushing. "I can't wait."

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
